Days in the life of a new resident of Scottsbluff, Nebraska

Inaugural Monument Marathon in the books

Today started out early, early, early for a lot of people. Today was the culmination of months of work by many people. The very first Monument Marathon was held in Gering, Nebraska.

I wish I could have been everywhere to see how everything went. From my vantage point mainly in the finish area at Five Rocks Amphitheater, the day was a success.

Runner after runner was highly complimentary, even though they ran in 0.06 of chilly rain, with wind gusts around 30 miles per hour at the start. I was very pleased by the community turnout, and very pleased that the community was introduced to how cool the running community can be – runner after runner thanked the volunteers for their dedication.

And now, some photos from the day, featuring a lot of people I know, and some I don’t.

The day before the race, Bugman and many others spent all day preparing the start area, setting up supplies, and staffing the race expo. The loading dock area of Five Rocks Auditorium was filled with supplies, and Denée Janda was in there first thing this morning. She had her headlamp on. Smart gal.

Chabella Guzman was up a ladder in the wind, securing chip pickup signs with strips of tape to prevent them from being blown to Bridgeport.

Would you look at this? Volunteers at the volunteer check-in station smiling and laughing in the pre-dawn darkness!

Runners arriving to get their race timing chips just as dawn is starting to break. The dark clouds to the south unleashed a few bolts of lightning.

Glorious sunrise as the full-marathoners were boarding the bus that would take them to the start up at the Wildcat Hills.

Meanwhile, the finish area was a flurry of activity as volunteers hurried to complete their preparations.

Mustapha Barry and another volunteer secured the timing mat in the half marathon start area with duct tape because the wind was strong enough to flip the mat!

The food table volunteers were ready!

Members of the Nebraska Chiropractic Physicians Association consult on the setup of the participant treatment area.

It sure was nice to see race director Dayle Wallien smiling! The pressure of pulling this event together has been pretty intense. (I wonder if Bugman told a funny joke?)

I’m sure Dayle was smiling about how awesome the race volunteers were. These course marshals had awesome spirit! (Alas, the rain melted their signs.)

It was fantastic to see the lines of cars pulling into Five Rocks Amphitheater and to see the spectators lined up along the home stretch to the finish.

When the rain started, it drove many of the spectators indoors or into their vehicles. Not this hardy gal!

Hooray! The first (half) finisher! (Spencer Moul 1:26:40)

Yaaay, Chris Sommerich! (From Lincoln, NE)

Go, Roxie Shaul! Won a division award!!

A hearty cheer for Amy and Shawn Seiler and their young entourage!

Michelle Foster (Windsor, CO) won her division! W00t!

John Seiler gets a high-five at the finish.

Thank you, Avid Discord, for providing some panache to the event – and for adding a touch of irony by playing “Ain’t No Sunshine” on such a drizzly morning.

I was so incredibly impressed with the high levels of organization and enthusiasm from everyone involved with the races on Saturday and had such fun seeing folks I knew volunteering or cheering along the course! It was my first-ever marathon, and I had a great time (well, except for the really sore legs part). What an awesome introduction to the Scotsing community for all those out-of-town runners!

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Katie Bradshaw

In her grown-up life, Katie has lived in five Midwestern university towns. She is getting to know her sixth adopted hometown, which is a bit further "west" than "mid" and is located 150 miles from the nearest university.